Archinect - News

Rivian puts construction of major Georgia EV plant on hold

2024-05-01T11:36:00-04:00

Electric vehicle maker Rivian has pressed pause on the construction of a major manufacturing plant in Stanton Springs, Georgia. As we reported late last year, the company selected Clayco and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to deliver the 1,800-acre complex.

Previously on Archinect: Clayco and SOM to design major EV manufacturing plant for Rivian in Georgia. Image credit: Clayco

In March, however, the company announced a pause in construction of the $5 billion facility, saying that while the plant “remains an extremely important part of its strategy to scale production of R2 and R3 [car models],” the “timing for resuming construction is expected to be later to focus its teams on the capital-efficient launch of R2 in Normal, Illinois.”

In new developments, an email sent from the company in April underscored a commitment to the project. “During the pause period, Rivian anticipates performing some limited site development activities, but the depth and breadth of this work has not yet been det...

Clayco and SOM to design major EV manufacturing plant for Rivian in Georgia

2023-12-27T11:17:00-05:00

Clayco and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill have been selected by electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian to construct a “state-of-the-art EV manufacturing plant” in Stanton Springs, Georgia. The 1,800-acre complex is expected to “contribute significantly to the continued growth and adoption of electric vehicles,” according to Clayco.

Image credit: Clayco

“We have an ambitious goal to develop an eco-conscious facility that illustrates our mission of keeping the world adventurous forever,” said Tony Sanger, Vice President of Facilities at Rivian, in a statement. “With Clayco’s dedication to developing innovative ideas and solutions, we are confident they are the right partner to ensure the Rivian plant is a shining example of sustainable manufacturing.”

The plant is expected to begin vehicle production in 2026.

Image credit: Clayco

The electric car manufacturer had previously been planning a $5 billion factory in Fort Worth, Texas, as we reported in 2021. However, later that year, it was announ...

Morris Adjmi completes stepped Overline development in Atlanta with rustic brick facade

2023-10-03T14:05:00-04:00

Morris Adjmi Architects has completed a large residential scheme as part of the Overline development in Atlanta, Georgia. Situated in the city’s Old Fourth Ward, the new multifamily residence sits beside a soon-to-be-completed hotel and social club linked via a skybridge.

Image credit: Douglas Friedman

Seeking to offer a “fresh take on traditional multifamily,” the red brick complex holds 359 units within a stepped form, including multilevel apartments and maisonettes with private street-level entrances. At the base of the tower, a mixture of public and private spaces link the development with the adjacent diagrid hotel, currently under construction.

Image credit: Douglas Friedman

The design team’s vision for the residential tower was for a building that “pays homage to the nearby Ponce City Market and other original converted warehouses and factories found throughout the neighborhood.” The external material palette is define...

Meet all-round boutique studio Houser Walker: Your Next Employer?

2022-10-31T12:08:00-04:00

Following last week’s visit to Portland-based Skylab Architecture, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series to Atlanta, GA this week to meet multidisciplinary boutique studio House Walker.

Led by Hank Houser and Gregory Walker, the firm has expanded from its 2004 founding to encompass a wide portfolio, including residential, academic, commercial, and civic projects. Walker was also previously a guest on Archinect Sessions back in 2016 in an episode titled ‘Due Protest.’

From their office in Atlanta, the firm is currently hiring for several positions on Archinect Jobs. For candidates interested in applying for a position, or anybody interested in learning more about life at an architecture studio, we spoke with the Houser Walker team for a behind-the-scenes look at the firm.

The Houser Walker team

How did Houser Walker get started?

Both Hank (Houser) and Gregory (Walker) met while working at another large firm that was doing a lot of institutional work. We wanted to found ou...

Get Lectured: Kennesaw State University, Spring '21

2021-01-20T15:44:00-05:00

Kennesaw State University's Department of Architecture welcomes an array of distinguished guest lectures for their Spring 2021 lecture series. Located in Kennesaw, GA the department "nurtures critical thinking, embraces new technologies and encourages creativity and innovation through the integration of the theory, art, technology and science of the built environment."

Archinect's ongoing Get Lectured series features each school's lectured series and their graphic design prowess with eye-catching lecture posters.

With many schools holding virtual events, distance is no longer an issue when it comes to hearing from design professionals and academics within the industry. Check back regularly to keep track of upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

On January 15th the department welcomed Lorcan O'Herlihy of Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects. February will showcase ...

How the death of suburban malls aided the filming of the third season of Stranger Things

2019-07-12T13:29:00-04:00

Fans of Netflix's science fiction horror series Stranger Things were recently treated to season 3, which almost entirely takes place within a suburban mall. Filled with neon, fake marble and geometric water features, the postmodern mall design became the ideal setting for the show set in 1985.

Interior of Gwinnett Place Mall. Photographer unknown.

What is first assumed to be an elaborate stage set or impressive CGI is actually a mall in Duluth, Georgia. Originally built in 1984, the Gwinnett Place Mall is one of many malls throughout America that faced declining visitorship during the early 2000s which led to the closure of many of its stores several years ago (only a few remain in operation, including Foot Locker, Finish Line, Victoria’s Secret and Macy’s).

This became a perfect opportunity for the producers of Stranger things to rent a large portion of the space for a fraction of the price it might have been even a decade ago, allowing them to invest more into making the mall app...

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal declares state of emergency after I-85 bridge in Atlanta collapses from fire

2017-03-31T15:03:00-04:00

Transportation officials in Georgia are scrambling to cope with a crisis, after a huge fire caused a bridge on Interstate 85 to collapse in Atlanta on Thursday night. Gov. Nathan Deal has declared a state of emergency, and with the heavily used road closed in both directions, drivers are being told to find other options — from detours to mass transit. Friday morning, officials said they don't yet know what caused the fire or how long repairs will take.

Atlanta's Interstate 85 was first built in 1953 and reconstructed in 1985 to accommodate increased traffic. The closure affects a crucial 3-mile portion, which carries up to 400,000 vehicles a day. U.S. DOT Secretary Elaine Chow directed Federal Highway Administration officials to grant $10 million in emergency funds to begin repairing the bridge.

“Approximately 700 feet of the roadway – 350 feet northbound and 350 feet southbound — will be removed and replaced including support columns. Demolition will begin this weekend and will continue into Monday, April 3,” the Georgia DOT announced today.

Atlanta struggles to trade parking lots for density

2016-06-02T14:12:00-04:00

"If you design for everyone to drive, then what will you get? Congestion." [...] “We really need to shift now, from a situation like this, where you have a heavy parking load associated with an apartment building in a very urban setting, to way less parking,” [...] "You really have to start with the density and less parking. If you don't, then you've lost your opportunity, because once you've built that infrastructure, it's so difficult to undo that."

More on the parking problem and pedestrian infrastructure:

$6B expansion for Atlanta International Airport set to launch this year

2016-03-14T17:35:00-04:00

Two giant, translucent canopies spanning several lanes of roadway and sidewalks outside the domestic terminal will be among the most visible aspects of a $6 billion expansion and renovation project at the world’s busiest airport during the next 20 years, officials announced last week. Among other goals for the coming year: improving wait times for passenger security screenings...'Americans will not tolerate a one-hour wait as normal.'

Previous airport-related news on Archinect:

O’Hare airport announces $1.3B expansion deal

A new LaGuardia is the "airport that New York deserves", says Gov. Cuomo

Fancy $48M animal terminal to open in JFK Airport next year

Beacons in the sky: photographer Carolyn Russo celebrates the architecture of airport towers

The New East is where western starchitect dreams come true (or turn into nightmares)

2016-01-07T14:00:00-05:00

The rise of international architecture competitions has given western architects an opportunity to make their mark on eastern Europe and Central Asia [...] Regardless of record-high fees, some of their projects are being cancelled half-way through or take a good decade to build. But the ones that are brought to life often become some of the most recognised works of its authors. For starchitects the miles between eastern Europe and Central Asia is the place where dreams and ambitions come true.

Repositioning and possible name change of Georgia Tech's College of Architecture underway

2015-10-07T20:55:00-04:00

Georgia Tech is launching a strategic repositioning of its College of Architecture, including a possible name change. "The College of Architecture currently faces several reputational challenges as it seeks to implement its strategic plan that took effect in 2014," Tech said in a posting on its website on Tuesday. "Student enrollment levels in the undergraduate architecture program need significant improvement. [...] its research contributions show similar opportunities for improvement."

Kennesaw State University: New Name for Established Program

2015-09-11T12:24:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Kennesaw State University.

“What’s in name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”

In those lines, from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Juliet declares that Romeo is not defined by his name but by who he is. Such was the case when in January of 2015, Southern Polytechnic State University was consolidated with Kennesaw State University to form the “New U,” making it the fourth such name change in SPSU’s 66-year history. Today, the University is named Kennesaw State University but still maintains the same academic programs offered at the institution for decades.

“For the past 50 years, we have offered architecture, and that hasn’t changed with the consolidation of the two institutions,” said Tony Rizzuto, chair of the architecture department at Kennesaw State University near Atlanta. Currently, the University offers the five-year B.ARCH degree and the M.S.ARCH degree with two concentrations, in urbanism and sustainable design, wi...

Atlanta plans big for bikes, and Atlantans turn out big time

2014-10-17T18:13:00-04:00

The massive Beltline and an impressive grid of protected lanes that will connect the trail system to key urban destinations are poised to remake transportation in the city that anchors the country's ninth-largest metro area. [...] As the video above shows, Atlanta's embrace of active space is part of a psychic shift in a city that's shaking off its old Sprawlville USA image with a combination of bike, transit and affordable housing infrastructure.

Similar bike-friendly development is underway in the South's other notorious mega sprawl metro area, Houston: The Bayou Greenways Plan: A Game-Changer for Houston?

The Real Corporate Landlords of Atlanta

2014-09-09T14:19:00-04:00

“It’s not rare for us to go and try to make sure that no one buys the house of someone who’s facing foreclosure,” says Rob Call, an organizer for Occupy Our Homes Atlanta (OOHA). In Georgia, houses are publicly auctioned every first Tuesday of the month on each county courthouse’s steps. "[...] these auctions were mostly vacant. No one was really trying to go after these homes, but then they were [suddenly] swamped with people bidding up houses with quick access to sizable cashier’s checks.”

A closer look at Downtown Atlanta's latest parking report

2014-08-06T13:25:00-04:00

Central Atlanta Progress, a nonprofit corporation of Atlanta business leaders, has released the documents from a recent assessment of Downtown Atlanta parking. They include reports on the existing parking situation and recommendations for “improving the customer parking experience in Downtown Atlanta.” [...] The first sting was felt when I read this nugget from the report: A person’s first and last impression of a city begins and ends with parking. Ouch! I beg to differ.

Joanna Warsza Curates Architecture Between East and West

2014-07-10T13:23:00-04:00

Buildings perform a variety of functions: They shelter, illuminate, and obscure surrounding people and landscapes. The fundamentally pragmatic purpose of architecture endows edifices with a wide range of functions, but rarely does architecture speak. Curator Joanna Warsza, however, organizes performances and interventions that implore architecture to speak back.

By 2011, Atlanta Had Demolished All of Its Public Housing Projects. Where Did All Those People Go?

2014-05-09T13:25:00-04:00

For most of the 20th century, Atlanta was known for its public housing. The city had pioneered the concept in the 1930s [...] Two decades later, that proportion has fallen all the way to zero. [...] Looking at these two decades of rapid residential change, Atlanta native and filmmaker King Williams is looking for an answer to a seemingly obvious question. With his in-production documentary The Atlanta Way, Williams asks: Where did all of these people end up?

Get Lectured: Georgia Tech, Spring '14

2014-02-10T15:03:00-05:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Winter/Spring 2014

Archinect's Get Lectured is up and running again for the Winter/Spring '14 term! As a refresher from our Fall 2013 guide, every week we'll feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current season. Be sure to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Today's poster is from the Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Architecture in Atlanta, Georgia.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Listed below are upcoming events only. Unless noted, lectures start at 6:00 p.m. and will take place at the Reinsch-Pierce Auditorium at the College of Architecture: 245 4th St, NW Atlanta, Georgia

FEBRUARY

Feb 12
6:00 p.m.
Diane Favro
2014 Academy of Medicine Distinguished Lecture in Architecture and the Classical Tradition: "Lab Bytes Rome: Digital Experiments on Augustan Rome"
at The Historic Academy of Medic...

UNStudio’s Kutaisi International Airport in Georgia completed

2013-11-18T19:51:00-05:00

UNStudio recently announced another completed project this month: the Kutaisi International Airport in the Republic of Georgia. First presented to the President of Georgia in 2011, the newly built airport will provide domestic and international flights for use by international diplomats, national politicians and tourists.

Previously: Ben van Berkel / UNStudio’s Design for the new Kutaisi Airport in Georgia

Related: Tbilisi's face-lift

Winners of the AIA Georgia 2013 Design Awards

2013-11-04T15:13:00-05:00

AIA Georgia presented 21 awards to 15 Georgia-based architecture firms at the AIA Georgia 2013 Design Awards Gala on Oct. 12 at the Columbus Convention and Trade Center. The annual Design Awards recognize works of excellency and distinction by Georgia architects. Awards were given in the categories honor, merit, and citation: Two Honor Awards, Nine Merit Awards, and 10 Citation Awards.

Get Lectured: Southern Polytechnic State University '13-'14

2013-10-11T15:15:00-04:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2013

Here on Archinect we recently launched "Get Lectured", where we'll feature a school's lecture series--along with their snazzy posters--for the current season. Check back regularly to stay up-to-date and mark your calendars for any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Let's wrap this week up with the 2013-14 Lecture | Workshop series from the Southern Polytechnic State University, Department of Architecture (SP_ARC).

The concept of the program is to re-establish the act of teaching within the lecture series venue. SP_ARC will host formal evening lectures accompanied by hands-on workshops with each guest speaker the following morning. At the end of each workshop, student-produced works will be publicly displayed in the architecture gallery.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Lectures begin at 5:00 pm in the Design II Aud...

Get Lectured: Georgia Tech School of Architecture Fall '13

2013-09-12T11:03:00-04:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2013

Here on Archinect we just launched "Get Lectured", where we'll feature a school's lecture series--along with their snazzy posters--for the current season. Check back regularly to stay up-to-date and mark your calendars for any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Today's list is from the Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Architecture.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

All lectures are free and open to the public.
Unless noted, events will be held at the Reinsch-Pierce Family Auditorium:
245 4th Street NW Atlanta, GA

AUGUST

August 28
6:00 pm
Mark Binelli / author of "Detroit City Is the Place to Be"
(presented with Art Papers)

SEPTEMBER

September 11
6:00 pm
Neil Denari / NMDA

September 18
6:00 pm
Lee Ann Gamble + Michael Gamble / G+G Architects

September 25
6:00 pm
Brian Bell + David Yocum / BLDGS

Se...

New Health Center will invigorate one of Atlanta's toughest neighborhoods.

2012-05-14T17:53:00-04:00

This 34,000-square-foot regional health facility located in an under-served neighborhood in southwest Atlanta combines under one roof a primary care clinic, a behavioral health clinic, childcare facilities, a dental clinic and a workforce community center. In doing so, it projects a holistic idea of wellness and a positive self-image for a challenged community. The building is also meant as a catalyst for future growth in the area.

The intention was to create a structure that feels vibrant and alive. The roof was conceived as a dynamic, protective element, a metaphoric blanket, opening upward to welcome in the public. A standing-seam “clamp” folds over the roof to house mechanical equipment, identify major entries and serve as a beacon. Inside, a decentralized, double-height circulation lobby further integrates all the programmatic components.

The notion of co-locating all these functions in a single facility to serve people of varied backgrounds led to consideration of the co...